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One in four people would like the next Government to enforce lower petrol prices

Press release - 30th April 2015

Nearly 13 million people believe that enforcing lower petrol prices will have the most positive impact on their disposable income.t

A third of 18-24 year olds would like to see a rise in the minimum wage, while those over the age of 55 would favour a rise in cash benefits.

One in five people aged between 45 and 54 said that a ban on zero-hour contracts would have the most positive impact on their personal disposable income.

According to new research released today, one in four adults in the UK, nearly 13 million potential voters, are calling for the next Government to enforce lower oil prices, saying that adopting such a policy would have a significantly positive impact on their personal levels of disposable income.[1]

ISA and savings provider Scottish Friendly asked adults across the UK to identify those policies they felt would have the most positive impact on their levels of disposable income and which they would like to see established by the next Government following the General Election.

The most popular policy that people would like to see introduced was the lowering of direct taxes, such as income tax, national insurance and council tax. Cuts to indirect taxes such as VAT was second favourite among potential voters, followed by enforcing lower petrol prices and raising cash benefits in joint third position.

The top five most popular income-enhancing policies that UK adults would like to see introduced following the General Election were:

Policy

Popularity

1

Lowering direct taxes, income tax, national insurance contributions

37 per cent

2

Lowering indirect taxes (e.g. VAT)

35 per cent

3

Enforcing lower petrol prices

26 per cent

3=

Raising cash benefits (e.g. state pension)

26 per cent

5

Raising the personal tax allowance (e.g. tax free saving)

22 per cent

Calum Bennie, savings expert at Scottish Friendly, said:

Petrol prices hit a recent low at the start of the year, helping to drive inflation almost into negative territory in recent months. Yet despite this, a large sway of potential voters, nearly 13 million of them, would like to see the next Government enforce lower petrol prices to help raise the level of personal disposable income.

"From the school run to the daily commute and those that rely on their cars for work, Britain is a nation that places a great reliance on petrol. The costs associated with maintaining a car is clearly important to British voters and is something that the next Government will need to bear in mind should petrol prices start to rise back to previous levels.

Across the different age groups, one third of 18-24 year olds (33 per cent) would like to see a rise in the minimum wage while nearly half of those over the age of 55 (45 per cent) prefer to see a rise in cash benefits, such as an increase in the state pension.

Interestingly, almost one in five people aged between 45 and 54 (19 per cent) said that a ban on zero-hour contracts would have the most positive impact on their personal disposable income – compared to the national average of just 14 per cent.

Calum Bennie, savings expert at Scottish Friendly, said:

The issue of zero-hour contracts has been a recurring theme in the build up to the General Election, with the Labour Party opting for them to be banned, while the Conservative Party prefers to keep the practice in place. The results here suggest that those on zero-hour contracts at a later stage in life would prefer to be moved to a more permanent contract that will allow for greater disposable income, while younger age groups see zero-hour jobs as a stepping stone on their long-term career plans and less important to them compared to other income enhancing policies.

References:

Research was commissioned by Scottish Friendly and conducted by Reddot research in April, 2015. Over 2,000 adults, representing a cross-section of the UK, were asked to identify the top three policies that would most likely enhance their level of personal disposable income and that they would like to see implemented following the General Election.